Developing more wind power in the North

The report of the Ministry of Industry and Trade said: Currently, the wind power capacity in operation is 4,126 MW. Power planning VIII gives priority to strongly developing onshore wind power and offshore wind power. According to Report 4967/TTr-BCT dated August 18, 2021, it is expected that in 2030 the onshore wind power capacity will reach 16,121 MW, and the offshore wind power will be 7,000 MW (4,000 MW in the North alone).

After review, the Ministry of Industry and Trade expects onshore wind power to increase by 700 MW in the North to take advantage of the wind potential in the northern mountainous provinces, raising the wind power capacity on the North coast to 3,516 MW.

For solar power, at the Government's standing meeting on August 20, the Government Inspector General suggested that only those completed projects that have not yet determined electricity prices should be considered and included in the Power Plan VIII. contract for equipment procurement and construction is underway (total capacity is about 636 MW - there is no specific list).

In this regard, the Ministry of Industry and Trade found that the above-mentioned projects (except for those that were not carried out) were actually implemented at different stages and incurred costs. Therefore, in order to avoid legal risks, avoid lawsuits and compensate investors, waste social assets, there is a possibility of problems related to social order and security. Due to the risk of hot spots appearing in the area where project land has been allocated, the Ministry of Industry and Trade proposes to continue developing solar power projects that have been approved by investors in the period to 2030 with a total capacity of 2,360.42 MW (decreased from the reported number because some projects were not carried out by investors).

"In case the inspection and examination agencies detect any violations of the project, they will strictly handle them according to regulations. In case of serious violations, even withdraw the investment license, suspend the project under the provisions of law", the Ministry of Industry and Trade made a point.

Regarding rooftop solar power, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, by the end of 2020, more than 105,000 rooftop solar power systems have been put into operation with a total capacity of 7,755 MW. As a tropical country, the potential for rooftop solar power development in our country is still very large (estimated at 48,000 MW). Power planning VIII encourages localities, businesses and people to strongly develop rooftop solar power for the purpose of self-use, not selling into the national electricity system. This type does not limit the scale of development capacity, regardless of the planned power source structure.